1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to wireless communication systems. More particularly, the embodiments of the invention relate to wireless ad-hoc data communication.
2. Description of Related Art
The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standards describe air interfaces for fixed and mobile broadband wireless access systems, especially for Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). There are different standards for wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) and wireless Local Area Network (LAN) such as IEEE 802.11, known as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and IEEE 802.15, known as Bluetooth to the public. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi include ad-hoc network protocol so that a user terminal can connect to the other user terminal directly without an access point. The IEEE 802.16 subscriber station (SS) may communicate directly between the SSs using the mesh mode. However, the protocol is so complex that industrial standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Wireless Broadband (WiBro) have not adopted the mesh mode.
Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi equipment generally cannot communicate if a SS is away more than a short distance (e.g., 300 feet) from the access point. The IEEE 802.16 protocol is designed to cover tens of miles. Therefore, IEEE 802.16 equipment may be substituted for the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi equipment theoretically but not vice versa.